Chapter 5: The Grand Tour

[Stella]

Despite the previous day’s events, when I awoke the next morning, I was feeling better than ever. I’d had a night of dreamless, deep sleep, and I was feeling rested for the first time in a couple of days.

When I pulled myself out of bed, I was surprised to find that I no longer ached as I had before. I stretched my arms above my head and let out a soft sigh and felt my confidence surge.

Today would be my first day of work, and I wanted to show Cassius I was up to the task.

I headed into the enormous bathroom for a shower. The steady stream of warm water rained down, and I felt a wave of relief crash over me. It felt a sense of renewal and was ready for the day.

Once I was showered and dressed, I grabbed my bag of cleaning supplies, threw it over my shoulder, and then headed downstairs.

Albert was waiting for me there and offered me a small nod as I reached the foyer.

“Good morning, Miss Stella,” he greeted me. “You’re looking much better this morning.”

“I’m feeling much better,” I said, and then I peered around. “Is Cassius—”

“He’s in his chambers sorting through some business,” Albert replied. “He’s instructed me to give you a proper tour of the place if you’re up for that.”

“I’m ready,” I assured him, and then I gestured to my bag of supplies. “I’m ready to get to work.”

Albert smiled. “Then let’s get started.”

The white-haired man then led me down a series of hallways and gave me a grand tour of the place. There were at least seven bedrooms, the same number of bathrooms, and many rooms with undedicated potential.

My favorite room was an empty library, which Albert assured me would one day be filled with books.

“Cassius enjoys reading above all else,” he noted as I stared around at the ceiling-high shelves. “Which is why none of his books have been unpacked yet. He wants you to take special care when it comes to cleaning this room.”

“Of course,” I assured him.

Albert smiled. “Good. I trust you’ll do a wonderful job. Now, let’s head to the second floor.”

Of course, there was so much more to this mansion.

We ascended the staircase, and after I took a moment to catch my breath, Albert continued the tour. As we passed through more rooms, I began to feel overwhelmed.

This was going to be a huge undertaking for one person.

Albert seemed to notice my concern, and he turned to face me with a worried look on his face. “Don’t worry, my dear,” he said. “You’ll be the head housekeeper and can hire all the help you need.”

I let out a breath, relieved.

***

I spent the day scrubbing some of the upstairs bedrooms. Once finished, I decided I’d done enough for one day and returned my bag of supplies to my room.

I took a quick shower, changed my clothes, and then went to find my employer to update him on my progress.

Doing my best to remember which room was which, I searched the mansion but couldn’t find Cassius.

Finally, I heard a noise coming from a room at the end of the hallway; it sounded like punching.

Curious, I headed to the door and was about to open it when it opened for me–right into my face.

“Stella!” I heard Cassius exclaim as fell backward.

Somehow, he caught me so that I didn’t land against the wall behind me.

“I’m sorry,” he said, sounding genuinely concerned. “I didn’t know you were there.”

“I was looking for you…” I stopped speaking immediately when our eyes met.

An awkward silence filled the air around us.

“You’re bleeding,” he said quietly, and he broke our gaze to look at my forehead.

“Oh,” I said, still a bit stunned. I guess I had hit the edge of the door.

He reached up with his thumb and wiped away some blood, which clung to him as he pulled it away. I saw him look at it, as though wrestling internally with himself.

My eyes widened in fear.

I knew the power of the draw of blood, and I too had craved human blood on occasion, being a half-breed. For a pureblood like Cassius, I could imagine that even partial human blood would be tempting.

But he ignored it for now and helped me to my feet.

“Let’s get that fixed up,” he said as he put his hand on the small of my back and led me downstairs. The warmth of his hand on me was intoxicating, so I had to focus on my steps; I was a little dizzy as well from the hit on the head, so I felt a little uneasy.

He led me to a sitting area. “I’ll get something for that. Just a moment,” he said.

I nodded and leaned back in the overstuffed chair, watching him leave the room. I wondered what he did with my blood on his finger when he left. I hoped that he didn’t taste it, which would reveal a secret I didn’t want to be known to a pureblood vampire, no matter how attracted I was to him.

I didn’t know whether Cassius had ever tasted the blood of a half-breed vampire before, and briefly, I imagined that he had, and that was the reason that he’d invited me to stay.

I’d always been told how delicious it was.

I shivered at the thought, but I didn’t get up since my head was making me feel dizzy. I’d have to trust that Cassius wasn’t after me for my blood… at least not yet.

He returned with a first-aid kit, from which he pulled some ointment, a cotton ball, and a band-aid. I trembled as his hands touched my skin again.

“It’s okay,” he said softly. “I won’t hurt you.”

I looked up at him, my eyes questioning whether he’d meant for the cut on my forehead or just generally. I hoped it was both.

He gazed back at me momentarily and gave me a thin-lipped smile, then went back to work gently and fixed the cut.

When he was finished, he looked back into my eyes. The way the dim light shimmered in his own eyes made him look less like a pureblood to be feared and more like a… well, like a gorgeous man.

That stirred something inside of me and I caught my breath as he gently rubbed his finger along my cheek.

“I’m so sorry to have harmed you,” he said. “I should have that door repaired to open in the other direction.”

“I… I heard punching,” I said, instantly regretting that I’d opened my mouth. Whatever Cassius was doing in his own home was none of my business.

But he chuckled lightly and sat down in the chair beside mine. “It was just a little workout,” he said. “That’s my personal gym, and I like to take some boxing gloves to the punching bag once in a while. It’s fully stocked with equipment, and you’re certainly welcome to use it if you’d like to.”

“Thank you,” I said. “I’ll probably get enough of a workout cleaning this whole place.” I was thankful that the conversation had turned to lighter topics. The intensity of his gaze when his body was close to mine was making my heart leap.

“That’s true,” he said with another chuckle. “But please, don’t feel as though it’s your responsibility to clean the entire mansion. I want to hire you as my head housekeeper, so you’ll be in charge of hiring others to handle much of the work.”

I nodded, not yet ready to commit to accepting his employment offer, although it was honestly the best job prospect I’d had lately. The pay he’d offered me would give me a large chunk of money that I could save up and get away.

I’d almost forgotten my original plan; my proximity to Cassius made it easy to do so. I had to learn how to look away from those hypnotic eyes if I was ever going to get out of this city.

If this pureblood would even let me leave.

“I sense uncertainty,” he said after a long silence during which I’d felt his eyes looking at me, not just at the cut, which I’d imagined he’d be drawn to, but also at the rest of my body.

He was admiring it.

I felt a warm blush rise in my cheeks.

“I… I’m just not sure about accepting the position yet,” I said.

This morning, I had been so sure that I wanted to impress Cassius with my work so I could land the job, but being in his presence now… I wasn’t so sure. I didn’t want any ties to this city, or anything holding me here, keeping me from my goal of getting away and living my own, peaceful life without worrying about vampires.

Even though I am one, at least halfway.

“I hope that you’ll consider it,” he said. “I think you would be an asset around here.”

His phone rang, and he took it out of his pocket and looked at the screen.

“I’m sorry,” he said. “But I need to go. Let’s talk more later.”

He gave me an encouraging smile and I nodded.

“Talk later,” I said softly, watching him walk off and wondering what kind of an asset he wanted me to be.